The Dirty Affairs of a Vampire and His Horny Stepmom-Chapter 42: Unexpected confession (2)

«Well, it’s not so much that I spoke well of you as Jace Lance, but that I had words of praise... for a vampire,» she says, staring straight into my eyes.

At those calm words, my blood freezes in my veins. My muscles lock up and my breathing stops, while my body trembles from head to toe.

I hesitate for a moment, then I pull myself together.

«Kimberly... aren’t you a bit too old to believe in that kind of stuff? Everyone knows vampires don’t exist,» I sneer, forcing a cocky but nervous smile.

But the look she gives me... she’s dead serious — and any attempt to convince her otherwise would be completely useless.

A heavy silence stretches on for what feels like an endless minute before I break it.

«How do you know...?» I ask in a soft voice, averting my eyes from hers.

«I know because I saw you, Jace — twice. The first time you had already killed, but fortunately the second time I stopped you in time...» she murmurs in a flat, cold voice.

Wait... so she is...

«T-That Monster Slayer...? I-It’s you, isn’t it, Kimberly...?» I stammer, my voice trembling.

She just nods.

I can’t believe it. Kimberly... is a Monster Slayer? It all seems so absurd, and yet... damn it, now that I think about it, it all makes perfect sense. How the hell did I not realize it sooner?

A thousand tiny details that, by themselves, had seemed meaningless now fit together perfectly, like pieces of a puzzle.

At first, Kimberly had never even spared me a glance, and she started opening up to me right after the first attack — when she saw me with Hank, John Hardley’s goon. She clearly saw my face that night — that’s why her wall of coldness suddenly vanished.

And then... John said that his lackey, the dark emissary named Alex Serghal, had wounded that Monster Slayer in the right leg... and the following week she stayed home with a leg injury. She’d said she’d cut herself on a sharp branch during a mountain hike, and yet Elenoire, while fitting the dress on her, had spoken of a burn.

And finally, when she attacked me in Long Island City a few nights ago, everything falls into place. Now I understand how she managed to be in the right place at the right time. Kimberly must have noticed that those two criminals were following us and guessed my intentions. She must’ve gotten off the bus right after seeing me walk away and followed me, just to stop me from carrying out a massacre.

More importantly, now I understand why she limited herself to hitting me with her bare hands, without killing me. From her words, it’s clear she’s grown at least a little fond of me.

Ah... I really was a complete idiot. How did I not see all these signs?

And yet, even after just confessing that she’s a Monster Slayer, she looks so calm, so unperturbed... as if she’d just told me something completely ordinary.

«So... what happens now?» I ask, forcing myself to appear as confident as possible, even though it’s not easy. I’m face to face with someone who’s already proven she can kill me with extreme ease. I can only hope she doesn’t answer with something like: Now I’m going to kill you!

But luckily for me, she does nothing of the sort.

«I don’t know, you tell me what I’m supposed to do...» she mutters. «You’re a vampire, I’m a Monster Slayer. By nature, one of us should kill the other, and after what you’ve done, taking you out would probably be the right thing to do. But since I didn’t come to New York for you, I could also turn a blind eye... if you promise you’ll stop hunting humans.»

«And how the fuck am I supposed to promise you something like that? I’d starve to death!» I snap. «Let’s do this instead — you promise to become a vegetarian, and I promise to stop drinking human blood!»

«I don’t see the connection...» Kimberly murmurs.

«Oh, but there absolutely is one!» I retort, jumping to my feet. «You can eat pork, right? But I can’t drink human blood? That’s the food chain! Humans sit at the top — at least in this world — and yet I’ve never seen pigs band together to form Human Slayers to defend themselves from you. It’s not my problem if it’s hard for you to accept that something exists above you in the food pyramid!»

Kimberly hesitates for a moment — clearly thrown off by my logic, which, at least on the surface, makes perfect sense, even though the issue obviously isn’t that simple. After all, the food chain is intrinsic to nature itself. It existed long before humans or vampires appeared, and it will continue to exist even after we’re gone.

But guilt, triggered by the usual arguments, always works.

«I’m not the one who makes the rules,» she finally says, shrugging. «Anyway, my parents will be home soon. Even though they’re not Monster Slayers, they both work for HESPARC — the global organization that protects Earth from threats coming from other worlds. So I’d say it’s better if they don’t find you here when they get back. You know, my mother can recognize a vampire just by smell — it’s a gift in her family.»

«Yeah, I’d say it’s best if I get the hell out of here as soon as possible,» I mutter, taking a few steps toward her bedroom door. But just as I’m about to head into the hallway, I turn back toward her, struck by a doubt.

«Why did you tell me you’re a Monster Slayer?» I ask, clearly perplexed. «None of this makes any sense. For someone who does a job like yours, secrecy should be the top priority — so why did you decide to drop the mask with me?»

She gives me an amused grin.

«Jace... why do you think I didn’t kill you?» she asks. «And yet I had plenty of chances to do so. Even now, I could do it without any problem. And still, you’re alive.»

«Didn’t anyone teach you that it’s rude to answer a question with another question?» I mutter.

«The answer to your question is the same as the question I just asked you,» she replies with a mocking little smile. «Simply put, even though you’re a vampire... I like you a lot.»

«You... like me?» I stammer, shocked, still trying to save face.

«Don’t let it go to your head,» she chuckles. «I like you as a person, not in that sense, silly. The way you’ve always behaved with me — especially after what happened at the fashion show — made me realize that deep down you’re not just a ruthless, bloodthirsty predator. There’s a heart in your chest capable of compassion and altruism, even more so than in many humans I’ve known. Simply put, I think you’re a good guy at heart. And if I killed you, I’d probably miss you... so behave yourself and don’t force me to do it.»

She smiles broadly, a smile that clashes sharply with the veiled threat in her words.

«That said, I’ll see you tomorrow at school, Jace. And remember — even if you don’t see me, I’m watching you,» she concludes.